Ahead of the upcoming January premiere of Doctor Who‘s newest New Year’s Day special, BBC America has announced that series regular Bradley Walsh and Tosin Cole are no longer returning for the series’ upcoming thirteenth season. Walsh and Cole first appeared as Graham O’Brien and Ryan Sinclair in the eleventh season of Doctor Who, serving as the new companions along with Mandip Gill’s Yaz to Jodie Whittaker’s version of the Time Lord. Their characters are still expected to be featured in the upcoming Revolution of the Daleks special which scheduled to air in Friday, January 1 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT.
“There are some very moving movements in the show and working with Jodie, Mandip and Tosin is a dream come true,” Walsh said about the upcoming special. “They are all so, so talented people and all the crew too. For me it was very emotional.”
Walsh continued, “Working in Wales with everyone on the crew. I have absolutely loved it, loved it. Wales has become like a second home to me and being included in something so iconic and ground-breaking with the advent of having a female Doctor, that whole thing where Chibnall sold that to me, it didn’t disappoint, and I loved working with those guys. I love working with Chris Chibnall, that man is a genius but to also be working with Mandip and Tosin and of course Jodie is just extraordinary.”
Cole added on the things he’ll miss the most about working on the show, “There are too many things to list here, but it has to be the team on the screen and behind it as well as the amazing fans. It’s been an honour to work on such a cultural institution with fans across the world. The people like me on the screen come and go, but it’s the people behind the scenes and the fans that will always be there keeping the Doctor Who world alive and exciting.”
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Titular star Jodie Whittaker also shared an emotional statement regarding Walsh and Cole’s departure from the series. “On a personal note, absolutely devasted! Both of them had to carry me to my trailer, I haven’t cried like that for such a long time. Brad couldn’t cope with it at all! Tosin was like ‘I really can’t cope with you getting this upset’.”
Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks will see a host of exciting guest stars including previously announced John Barrowman MBE, who will be reprising his role as Captain Jack Harkness, alongside Chris Noth (Sex and the City), who will be back as the disgraced Jack Robertson. Dame Harriet Walter (Killing Eve, Succession) will also be making her Doctor Who debut for the special, alongside television star Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (The Trial of Christine Keeler).
Viewers last saw the Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) at the end of Season 12, where her fate was left hanging in the balance as she was locked away in a high-security alien prison with no hope of escape. In the upcoming New Year’s Day special, Yaz, Ryan, and Graham are far away on Earth and having to carry on with their lives without her. However, they soon discover a disturbing plan forming. A plan which involves a Dalek. How can you fight a Dalek without the Doctor? Even with Captain Jack’s help, the gang are set to face one of their biggest and most frightening challenges yet.
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The series began broadcasting on BBC America in 2005, follows the Doctor, an alien from a race called the Time Lords whose home planet is Gallifrey, and is created by Sydney Newman (The Avengers), and Executive Produced by Russell T. Davies (Torchwood), Julie Gardner (Torchwood), Steven Moffat (Sherlock), Phil Collinson (Coronation Street), Piers Wenger (How I Live Now), Beth Willis, Brian Minchin (Wizards vs. Aliens), Caroline Skinner (Our Girl), and Mal Young (Desperate Scousewives).
